The Community Action Center warehouse is stocked full of diapers that were donated by Allina Health Medical Center of Faribault. This is the first donation kicking off a new program that provides parents with free diapers. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Leaders of various community programs meet to address the challenges and needs that come with their new diaper bank program. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Community Action Center Community Engagement Coordinator Hillary Lamberty (left) and Food Access Program Director Michael Pursell (right) listen to staff of Community Action Center and other community supporters during a Tuesday meeting. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Community Action Center in Faribault is the site of a new diaper bank providing struggling families with free diapers. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Leaders of various community programs meet to address the challenges and needs that come with their new diaper bank program. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Families going through financial hardships are oftentimes forced to “extend the life of a diaper,” according to a press release from Allina Health. That’s why Allina is working with Community Action Center and Growing Up Healthy to create a diaper bank.
Community Action Center Community Engagement Coordinator Hillary Lamberty (left) and Food Access Program Director Michael Pursell (right) listen to staff of Community Action Center and other community supporters during a Tuesday meeting. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
The new diaper bank is located at the Community Action Center at 1400 Cannon Circle, Suite 8, in Faribault. Any parents experiencing financial hardship can access the new diaper bank.
“It might be someone who got a higher-than-usual medical bill or their car broke down,” said Community Action Center Food Access Program Director Michael Pursell. “There are all sorts of factors that go into people not quite having the money they need for essentials.”
To kick off the new program, Allina donated 70 cases of diapers — 10 per size from zero to six. The donation is the first of many, according to Natalie Ginter, manager of community engagement at Allina Health.
The first of the other two organizations involved are Community Action Center of Faribault, which is a nonprofit that hosts a food bank and provides other resources for struggling families. The second is Growing Up Healthy, which provides resources and identifies local issues that immigrant families face in the community.
Ginter said Growing Up Healthy identified that there is a high need of diapers in the Faribault community, which inspired Allina to create the local diaper bank. The program model is based on similar programs that Allina helps with in Steele County at Community Pathways and the Salvation Army.
The Community Action Center warehouse is stocked full of diapers that were donated by Allina Health Medical Center of Faribault. This is the first donation kicking off a new program that provides parents with free diapers. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
There are restrictions aimed at ensuring there are enough diapers to go around. Families can use the bank up to four times a year per child. Exceptions may be made for life-altering emergencies, like a home being destroyed in a fire.
“The main thing to be aware of is that what we’re doing with this program is only a drop in the bucket of need in the community,” said Pursell. “This is not solving the diaper need in Faribault. There’s so much more that we all could be doing, but this is a great partnership with Allina. It’s a great example of a community partner stepping up.”
The diaper bank partners are asking members of the community to help keep it stocked. Donations of cash or unused outgrown diapers are welcomed. Diaper sizes five and six are especially sought because they have already been in high demand.
Before donating, CAC recommends calling ahead to find out what items are in high demand.
Community Action Center of Faribault
1400 Cannon Circle, Suite 8, in Faribault.
1 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.
Community Action Center in Faribault is the site of a new diaper bank providing struggling families with free diapers. (Colton Kemp/southernminn.com)
Like the people it serves, Pursell said the Community Action Center is challenged by the current economic climate.
“We provide a really important safety net for people,” Pursell said. “All the same factors that are squeezing the communities we serve are also squeezing our organization. High food prices, high shipping costs and inflation are all making it harder for us to provide what we need to provide.”
As costs go up and funding becomes harder to come by, center leaders are forced to ask themselves difficult questions.
“We really need the community to be aware of what we’re doing and to be supportive,” he said. “The question that our members have to face every day is, ‘What happens when it runs out? We’re trying to make sure that we’re doing what we can so that we don’t run out, so that, when they do, they have someplace to go.”
Reach Reporter Colton Kemp at 507-333-3129. © Copyright 2022 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
Data included is taken from the Minnesota Department of Health Daily reports. Because all data is preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths.
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